Employment Outlook

Typical career paths for students majoring in philosophy are law, religious ministry, university teaching, business, medicine, and counseling. But because of the range and wide applicability of the skills developed in the study of philosophy (including thinking and communicating clearly and persuasively) a great variety of career fields are open to philosophy graduates, most especially with additional education or training. While the great value of philosophy lies in its intrinsic interest, it does lead to rewarding careers as well. The most recent statistics provided by the website payscale.com indicate that the median starting salary for philosophy graduates with the BA degree alone is $39,800 and the median mid-career salary is $75,600. This ranks second among the humanities majors. In recent years graduates of Gannon’s philosophy program have enjoyed a 100% placement rate in graduate school or employment. Students going on to graduate study in philosophy have been accepted into programs at West Chester University, St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Fordham University, Georgetown University, and the Pontifical North American College in Rome.